There’s power in connecting over coffee, according to NBA superstar Jimmy Butler.

He said his love for a good cup of joe was born while bonding over coffee with his trainers while in Philadelphia, circa 2018. Today, it has evolved into his company, Bigface, with the vision of “a world with better coffee, big dreams, and bigger smiles.”

“When I was in Philly, and me and one of my trainers started going to the local cafe, and we would see fans in there, and we’d actually sit down and talk to them over arguably the worst coffee that I’ve had,” Butler told Blavity during the celebration of his latest Bigface pop-up extension in his new home of San Francisco. 

“Then, you fast-forward to that 2018 summer, and I was in London, and I’m a creature of habit; I went into this same coffee shop, Caffé Nero in Knightsbridge, and I talked to the exact same lady at the exact same time every morning,” he recalled. “It just got me to thinking, like, it’s wild what you can find out that you have in common with people when you actually sit down and give it an opportunity to talk, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I like this getting to know people part.’”

Butler admitted that he never imagined that Bigface would evolve into the coffee lifestyle brand that it is today.

The evolution of the Bigface brand

What initially started as a $20-per-cup hotel room side project in 2020 due to the lack of good coffee offerings in the NBA bubble created as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bigface now has a Miami brick-and-mortar location in the city’s Design District, along with pop-ups, like the most recent one at the corner of Valencia and 22nd streets in San Francisco. 

After a successful run in summer 2025, the pop-up has returned. It will run through mid-April in the Corner Store retail space operated by payments processing company Square at the former home of Lucca Ravioli. 

“I can’t say that I could see that it would be where it is today,” Butler said of his brand. “You’re talking about all the individuals that want me to open up in this market, in this city, and even this country. That was really wild, knowing that everybody wants what Bigface has to offer, around them, in their neighborhood, in their area.”

He continued, “I think coffee is for everybody. Everything here is for everybody,” adding, “If you don’t drink, you can wear this fly-ass merch and still be a part of Bigface.”

Celebrating with Bacardí

An avid lover of the game of dominoes, stemming from his youth, Butler celebrated Bigface’s latest move, a collaboration with Bacardí that includes the Café Con Ocho cocktail.

In his first-ever spirits partnership, Buter and his team put an unusual (yet delightful) twist on the espresso martini that has taken the culture by storm in recent years. 

Along with the drinks nod to the Caribbean with bold notes of nutmeg and vanilla from the brand’s premium rum, coupled with grapefruit, currant, and sugarcane flavors from his Bigface coffee, guests were able to play dominoes during the San Francisco event, with Butler even joining tables to showcase his skills at yet another game.

“That was my original hustle because my dad would take me to play against like all the old heads, and, at first, I didn’t know how to play, but my dad would teach me, and he would show me, and then I just fell in love with the game,” the 36-year-old native of Tomball, Texas, shared.

Butler mentioned, “It was another way to compete without the physical aspect of it, just using your mind,” adding, “I’ve been playing ever since I was like 5 years old.”

As Bigface continues to evolve, Butler’s dream is to see it all over the world.

“I want everybody to be able to just join the Bigface,” he concluded. “Chill. Be yourself. Don’t worry about being bothered. Let all of that hate s**t go, and find out what you got in common with everybody.”

He added, “I really believe if everybody’s smiling and everybody’s happy, this world is a phenomenal place, so why not start with Bigface coffee?”